‘Mr. Steilacoom’ has stepped down. Longtime mayor worked hard for his town, region
Steilacoom has said goodbye to its longtime mayor after he announced his resignation for medical reasons earlier this month.
Ron Lucas held the mayoral seat for more than two decades.
Town Administrator Paul Loveless said the symptoms of Lucas’ illness appeared in January.
Loveless did not disclose details of Lucas’ medical condition, and Lucas declined to be interviewed for this article.
Town council members and community leaders agreed that his successor has big shoes to fill.
“He was always high-energy and involved in so many wonderful things in this town. It’s difficult to imagine this town without him,” council member Nancy Henderson told The News Tribune. “This is Mr. Steilacoom.”
Henderson said when the Abitibi paper mill closed in 2000, the town was in debt with few ways to pay it off. Steilacoom is a bedroom community with the tax base of homes and a few businesses.
In 10 years, Lucas steered the town to pay off $15.7 million of revenue debt and debt related to utilities, Loveless said. The total town budget in 2019 was $22 million.
“We are in firm financial footing,” Loveless said.
Council member Peter Franklin said Lucas, as mayor, had time for everything and everyone.
“If there was going to be a street repair, he would go and talk to neighbors about their concerns and he would be knocking on doors,” Franklin said.
Mayor pro tempore Fred Crumley said Lucas is loved by most and respected by all.
Some of his decisions were not widely supported. Crumley mentioned the beaver debate, in which Lucas decided to hire a trapper last year to lethally remove beavers in the Farrell’s Marsh Wildlife Area.
“You can’t be a good leader without unpopular decisions,” Crumley said. ”There are a handful of those he made.”
The town council has 90 days to choose a replacement. If they fail to appoint a new mayor, the Pierce County Council will.
“We do have several people who have given indications of interest,” Crumley said.
Lucas, 75, was born in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Madison High School and received a baseball scholarship from Oregon State University, where he played shortstop for four years.
He graduated with a degree in political science.
Lucas joined the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. He was stationed at Fort Lewis in his final assignment, where he commanded the 3/11 Field Artillery Battalion.
In 1995, he graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a teaching degree and retired from the army as a colonel. He taught at Stewart Middle School in Tacoma for over a decade as a math teacher.
He was elected to the Steilacoom Town Council in 1993 and served two terms before he was elected as the mayor in 1999 and served until this month.
Mayoral work
Lucas was involved in issues beyond his town, particularly with infrastructure.
Doug Richardson called Lucas “Mr. Transportation.”
“When you think of (Lucas), you think about those (Interstate) 5 interchanges near JBLM. Getting that done was top of the list for him,” said Richardson, a former Pierce County Council chairman who also served as Lakewood mayor.
Richardson, who represented Steilacoom on the County Council, describes Lucas as a best friend who worked with both sides of the aisle to benefit Steilacoom and Pierce County.
Lucas was on several local boards and committees for transportation, including the Washington Transportation Improvement Board member and the Sound Transit Board.
As a veteran, he built relationships with Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Steilacoom became a “community connector” with the base and partners with the 42nd Military Police Brigade, Loveless said. The brigade provides updates about the base, participates in town events, and the town helps soldiers during deployments.
Lucas was inducted into JBLM’s Civilian Hall of Fame in 2004 for his work.
As mayor, Lucas could be spotted picking up litter from the side of the road or after the Fourth of July, attending various festivals and cook-offs, or supporting the local chapter of the Kiwanis Club. He and his wife, Jan, were involved in the Steilacoom Historical Museum Association and local food banks.
Ties to China were another strong interest for Lucas. He worked to bring Chinese exchange students into local schools, Richardson and Loveless said.
Lucas and Ron Chow co-founded and co-chair the Washington State Panda Foundation, which looks to bring Chinese giant pandas to Washington.
Spokesperson for Metro Parks, Hunter George, said Lucas and Chow approached the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium’s about adding a panda exhibit. George said getting a panda on loan from China is “expensive and incredibly complicated,” and discussions stopped under the Trump administration.
Also the mayor or Fircrest, George added that Lucas’ tenure helped small towns and cities have a seat at the table on regional issues.
“We aren’t going to run South Sound 911 or Sound Transit, but those serve our constituents as well, and together we have a larger voice,” George said.
The Steilacoom Historical School District said he is a frequent spectator at sporting events, and the school board plans to name a fastpitch field “Lucas Field” during its March 24 meeting.
“We are grateful for Ron Lucas and his ongoing commitment to our community, our students and our schools, and we are excited to honor his life-long dedication to serving others,” superintendent Kathi Weight said in a statement.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 12:28 PM.
